'I Look Forward to Getting to Work' — Kyle Long is Ready to Retake the Field

The Kansas City Chiefs officially announced the signing of three-time Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long on Thursday and Long made his first statements as a member of the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs made the signing of three-time Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long official on Thursday as the long-time Chicago Bear worked out for both the Las Vegas Raiders and the Chiefs and ultimately chose Kansas City.

Long spoke to the media about his decision to come out of his one-year retirement on Thursday and said he is excited to join a team with such potential.

"I also wanted to thank everybody at the Chiefs, the Hunt family, Andy Reid and Coach [Andy] Heck for allowing me the opportunity, Brett Veach for bringing me in here," Long said. "Tremendous opportunity, I’ve been in one place my entire career and it was home for me and the opportunity to come to a place like this, I wanted to schedule it early in the free agency because I know there’s a litany of players jumping at the opportunity to come into a building like this with a culture like this. I was so excited to make this happen and I look forward to getting to work."

.@Ky1eLong is pumped to be here 👊 pic.twitter.com/mt9NfGx8jd

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 18, 2021

In 2019, Long suffered a hip injury that placed him on the injured reserve a few weeks into the season which led to his release from the Bears and his eventual retirement.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach commented on the signing of Long in a press release and said he was impressed by his physical shape.

"We had an opportunity to meet with Kyle yesterday, and what really stood out was how much he loves the game and his drive to get back on the field," Veach said. "He’s in great shape, a three-time Pro Bowler and a really smart player with an incredible football pedigree. We’re happy he chose to come here to Kansas City."

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